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Kristof Goddaert (picture credit IAM Cycling)IAM Cycling's Kristof Goddaert killed after being run over by bus
IAM Cycling rider Kristof Goddaert has been killed after being run over by a bus at lunchtime today following a fall from his bike in Antwerp.
According to the Gazet Van Antwerpen, the 27-year-old Belgian died at the scene of the incident on Antwerp's Straatsburgdok, despite the efforts of emergency services personnel to try and save him.
The newspaper says that Goddaert lost control of his bike at around 2.10pm, adding that old train tracks may have been a factor, and that the driver of the bus travelling behind was unable to avoid him.
A professional since 2007, Goddaert joined the Swiss professional continental outfit IAM Cycling last year following three seasons at AG2R-La Mondiale.
He was runner-up to Tom Boonen in the Belgian national road race championship in 2012 and other results include a top ten finish in Gent-Wevelgem in 2011, third place in Paris-Brussels in 2009, and a stage win in the Tour de Wallonie in 2010.
Last week, he rode in the Tour of Qatar. During the 2009 edition of that race, his room mate and Topsport Vlaanderen colleague Fred Nolf died in his sleep. Goddaert was one of the pallbearers at his funeral.
In a statement, IAM Cycling general manager Michel Thétaz said: "We first think of his family and loved ones to whom we offer our sincere condolences and assure of our support in this terrible ordeal.
"At IAM Cycling, we lost Kristof Goddaert, and exemplary professional rider and a quality man. He signed in December 2012 with a great desire to meet with a new challenge with us.
"His good mood every day, enthusiasm and willingness to engage fully in his endeavors were very much appreciated qualities.”
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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31 comments
Such a young life lost. Very sad.
Many times we (do), often see vehicle drivers carefully following a cyclist (s), waiting for the opportunity to overtake safely but without realising the danger of following so closely.
All would certainly be horrified (including the impatient), if they were to cause injury to the cyclist.
It's baffling why the authorities - especially on the don't
So sad to lose another wonderful talent from the peloton, rest in peace dude
x
Maybe he filtered down the inside of the bus and nipped in front like many riders do on a daily basis? Could explain why he then fell, if he didn't have a good view of the road in front? Not saying this is the case, but there's not enough info here to simply assume the bus had a terrible driver... Very sad in any case.
RIP indeed.
This just serves to illustrate that we can bicker about blame and recklessness and so on, but sometimes unpredictable things just happen.
Mechanicals. Hitting a drain lid at a bad angle in the wet. Driver has a heart attack. And so on.
And if, in those cases, your infrastructure forces small fragile (but nimble) road users to be in close proximity with large heavy fast road users, inevitably the consequences will sometimes be tragic. And no "behave yourself and be nice to each other" campaigns will make a blind bit of difference.
There are so many potholes in Manchester at the moment, often covered by water, and I'm sure the vast majority of drivers aren't thinking about what would happen if a cyclist took a sideways tumble...
Wasn't there, and thus consider speculation inappropriate, and a little distasteful.
It's been a rough week for cycling, what with that South African track rider Jeanne Nell also dying.
"the driver of the bus travelling behind was unable to avoid him"
...meaning the driver of the bus travelling too close behind to be able to stop in time should the unexpected occur, couldn't be bothered to hang back *just a few seconds* to allow for the unexpected to occur.
If he was a fixed object in the road like a broken-down car or person who had collapsed, the bus driver would have been held responsible for not stopping in time. Hopefully the driver will likewise be found at fault for tailgating or not passing with enough space.
Not that that will bring this guy back from the dead, but it might send a message to other drivers and save lives in future.
Your view seems very simplistic, basically that no road user can ever approach within braking distance of another in case something 'unexpected' occurs.
Would a cyclist only be allowed to cycle at walking pace in case a pdestrian 'unexpectedly' decides to cross the road in front of them for example?
I don't think we know enough about the incident to apportion blame. I am sure the whole thing has been terriblefor both Kristof's family and also for the bus driver.
Yes. If you are going to pass another person so close that you could not react in time to them stopping or changing course, then yes. You should slow T-F down. Particularly when there is a significant mass/momentum differential and the consequence of any error on either part is highly likely to be death or serious harm. This is as relevant for a jogger running past a toddler or a cyclist passing a pedestrian as it is for a bus driver passing a cyclist.
You are joking right?
The vehicle codes for most countries explicitly include the concept of braking distance and promote the idea of safe following distances based on it... even if some of those are supposedly out of date. The following link apparently shows that some drivers believe their cars will stop in a shorter distance than is recommended: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=95692
http://www.sunderlandecho.com/news/crime/argos-lorry-driver-who-killed-w...
about sums up the legal view of cyclists in the UK.
No, I am not joking. All my club runs involve riding within stopping distance of the rider in front. If I choose to run across the main road outside my work I doubt even a law abiding 40mph driver would be able to stop before running me over.
It simply isn't possible to simply state that anyone running anyone else over is too close and should take more care. What about the example quoted above where a cyclist undertakes a vehicle and then hits a pothole. That could result in the driver running someone over with absolutely no hope of them being able to avoid it.
Yes, tailgating people is a very bad idea and very dangerous, butI don't think we should jump to conclusions in this case by adopting a view that a driver must ALWAYS bbe at fault by definition.
Maybe we're at cross-purposes. Your club run aside (which is a shared risk which you've all agreed to take), your examples are _not_ examples relevant to your phrase "no road user can ever approach within braking distance of another in case something 'unexpected' occurs." It seemed to me that we were discussing the situation (admittedly assumed in this case) that the bus driver was following too close behind the cyclist.
In addition, if you are driving (either a bicycle or a car) down a road with many line of sight obstacles you should be reducing your speed considerably in case some child does run out in front of you. That's your duty of care.
Unfortunate place to come off by the sounds of it, shows how potentially vunerable we all are even without kamikaze drivers.
If the bus can't stop it is too close. Rest in peace Kristoff...
A talented young rider thoughts go out to his poor family.
Such sad news. Rest in peace.
You know things are in a "bad way" when a seemingly supposed cycling website is seemingly reporting them as driverless.
The bus is too close then... RIP Kristof Goddaert.........
I offer my condolences to his family and friends.
Very sad. I feel for his family.
How tragic. RIP fella.
Wow, Kristof's 2009 team-mate, Frederiek Nolf, had also died - but in his sleep. Kristof was one of the pall-bearers at his funeral.
Such terrible news. One never knows how and when...
R.I.P such a shame
So sad. Stay safe guys.
Make me nervous to think that even a professional in a country considered safe for cyclist can still result in this, better have a word with the kids about road safety tomorrow.
not sure how "Safe for cyclists" Belgium is considered, sad anyhow.
Be careful out there people.
That's awful, a real shock.
RIP.
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